‘Dad, I shot a bear!’
November 24, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
Morgan Knable stumbled on more excitement than he bargained for Nov. 11, the last day of deer season in the area he hunts southwest of Bagley, Minn.
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‘Dad, I shot a bear!’
32 Comments
His 15 minutes of fame wasted on this lazy hunt story.
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I don’t understand the killing of the bear- bear are lethargic even if they are awake- I didn’t read anything in the story that said the bear went after him or that he was in danger- maybe the story wasn’t written well- not that news worthy IMO
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Lethargic ! Are you kidding me black bears are extremely fast, and a full grown grizzly is faster than a quarter horse in a quarter mile race. Please know your facts before stating them.
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A hibernating bear is not going to fly up out of it’s lethargic (yes, lethargic) state to suddenly start bolting after a person. I understand the reaction, though I wish people would better educate themselves about the wildlife they share their space with. If he knew much about bears his gut reaction would not have been “i have to shoot to save my life!” Anyhow, a hibernating bear has a very low heart rate, and they are very slow to get up and move around initially. I’m sure after being shot adrenaline kicked in and got it moving. But the boy was in no danger, had he just backed away from the bear there would have been no need to kill it. While he did not go looking to shoot the bear he seemed just a bit too gleeful about having killed it for me to be comfortable with the happenings. Not saying he is lying, just saying that it’s unfortunate a half-asleep bear had to die because of an uneducated youth with a gun who panicked. Panic should not be something you respond with by shooting anything. It’s how people get hurt, and killed…sharing the woods with people who panic.
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Why are you comparing a black bear to a grizzly bear ? Had it been a grizzly, the kid’s picture would have been in the obits.
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There certainly does seem to be an awful lot of people who should not be carrying weapons if they “panic” so easily.
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He was using a .223 caliber semi-auto rifle to hunt deer? Not a great choice in my opinion. Plus if you look at the picture it appears he has a bayonet on the end of the rifle. Maybe he thought it was a zombie bear and the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Therefore you need a 10 rounds and a bayonet. I don’t think I would be to comfortable hunting in the same woods as this young man.
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Although it is legal, nobody should be hunting big game with a .223 caliber rifle. I see nothing in this story which justifies him shooting the bear. If you come across a bear in it’s den, just walk away. A denned-up bear is no threat, as long as you leave it alone.
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….I also wonder how many wounded dear are running around the woods, from this kids and his fathers poor choice of a hunting weapon.
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I can’t think of a worse caliber for doing the kind of hunting they are doing. A .223 round is not meant for bear or deer. Not to mention his dad was 100 yards away and this kid is ripping off rounds until his magazine is empty. Maybe that is why he has the bayonet.
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Even if the bear had to be killed, it’s nothing to be happy about. Lose the smile.
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I’m no bunny-hugger in the least, but this story & the dad/kid are pathetic.
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He ripped off 10 rounds while the bear was running away? Bear was in it’s den sleeping. Something about this story doesn’t jive. If he told his dad “I shot a bear !” but his Dad had to finish it off? This kid deserves no ink, no picture…nothing. An innocent bear lost it’s life because this kid panicked. Wonder what he did when he saw that cougar he was talking about. This whole story is fishy to me. RIP Bear.
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Also, no mention of how many of his 10 rounds actually hit the bear. He shot while he was falling. “I was in fight-or-flight mode.” In fact, the bear was in flight mode, was it not ?
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Does anyone else find it concerning that this kid is running around in the woods with a high capacity semi-automatic rifle with a freaking bayonet! I mean seriously a bayonet! I am guessing he uses the South Park line “He’s coming right for us!!” to justify killing a lot of things besides this hibernating bear.
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Will everyone just unclench for a brief moment?
one, that is not a bayonet you see on the edge of the picture. It is a fold-down handle or monopod device, used in some situations for steadying a shot. There appears to be a blast compensator -the thingy with the holes in it, on the muzzle of the barrel. This gun is not fitted with a bayonet lug, as it is a civilian version of a military carbine.
two, he is reported to have stepped on – or in, a den or nest where the bear was hibernating for the winter. It is not always a cave or hole or even a brush pile, often the den is just a hollowed out depression in the ground, maybe with a bit of brush around it.
three, stepping on or next to a dormant bear will rouse the bear and that can be a very startling experience for an adult, much less an adolescent. A 300+ pound bear will appear to be more than twice the size of the person stepping on it, and it would not be surprising if the youth did not void himself right then. I do not think that any of you would be so calm as to blithely let a bear decide what it is going to do while you are falling down in front of it after stepping on it.
four, the round he is using is a lawful round for deer hunting, the reason he was in the woods in the first place. This gun and ammunition combination was originally designed by the military for killing. Deer and people are the same mass. This is not a bad deer gun, and I would be fully capable of killing a deer with one shot with this gun, with proper shot placement.
five, a bear can be a hard animal to stop in its tracks. Ten shots in the heart-lung chest cavity will kill the bear but not stop it in its tracks. It will bleed out, but continue to run at full speed for at least ten seconds until there is not enough blood flow to keep it running.
I will admit the youth was not moving wisely, watching where he was going. The picture does not show much snow on the ground, and he should have been able to see exactly where his feet were going, while carrying a loaded firearm. His mistake was walking uncautiously.
I was a volunteer firearm safety instructor here in Minnesota for nearly 20 years – I think I am fully qualified to speak in this matter. For what it is worth, I was also a successful bear hunter, hunting from the ground with a single-shot flintlock, more than 20 years ago. I decided I did not want to hunt bears any more – but I know what it takes to kill one and stop it in its tracks.
I am not defending this young person, but I am also disagreeing with nearly every one of you, for your reactions. I am also a known granola-crunching tree-hugger hippy liberal. Go think on that one for a second.
tom koehler
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If you are as knowledgable and qualified as you think you are TVK, you should know that a .223 is not a suitable caliber for big game hunting. At MINIMUM, a .243 is as small of a cartidge that I would like to see someone use for large game.
I’m not sure about MN law, but in WI you can hunt with any center fire caliber.
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……I should qualify, any centerfire .22 or over. I limit my use of my .223′s to coyotes and prairie dogs.
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TVK,
Here is a link to buy a bayonet lug for a Mini-14, http://www.gunaccessories.com/Mini1430/index.asp.
That is not a bi-pod or a fore grip, a for grip would go where fore grip part of the stick is, not the end of the barrel. That is a bayonet whether you want to admit it or not.
I am not a firearms instructor, but I am familiar with firearms. I enjoy shooting and hunting myself. I own a .223 and if you think that a 55 or 62 grain round is a good choice for shooting deer, then you are plain wrong. It may be legal and it may kill with a proper shot, so will a high power pellet riffle. They are both bad choices.
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TVK is correct; it is a Forend Pistol Grip, not a bayonet. I have the exact same thing on a ranch rifle.
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That is no pistol grip, a pistol grip would be placed much closer to to the stock or on the stock. It would not be placed at the end of the barrel. The goal of a pistol grip is to stabilize your aim, that will not happen with your arm fully extended. Look at the link above, it is for a mini-14 bayonet lug, or search google for images on a mini-14 bayonet and it looks exactly like what is in the pic.
Here is an image of a mini-14 with a bayonet: http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQwdutuz9lKXcRiOCYwNDjvhvzd3zE5Wam9BWySDHtTAkwkIAK4bfU9XzRK
Here is an image of a fore grip: https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSoRXzANJ151YZNHNYHmlO4IvEWV-B103yWC7S8wlGh-BTYXh0U7w
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That photo shows a stock grip John. The forend grip mounts to the barrel. They are also used as a monopod rest. I have one on a Ruger Ranch Rifle, and it looks exactly like the one in the kid’s photo. Those rifles are very short. The forend grip folds back towards the stock and is actually easier to use than the stock mounted one. I have used both.
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As a firearm safety instructor myself–and a bear hunter–I couldn’t disagree with you more in some aspects of your response.
The encounter reads like something from a century ago when all creatures were thought to be maneaters. It’s certainly possible to stumble on a hibernating bear–they often do hibernate out in the open in sheltered areas. And to get pretty scared, if you have little experience with bears.
Unless there’s more to the story though, celebrating it like this and then allowing them to keep the bear goes too far.
And as far as this gun and caliber combo–nope. Yes that caliber with carefully chosen ammo–which is not widely available and is a lot more expensive that than standard ammo for the caliber–can kill a deer. But it’s really an expert’s round. You have to hit the animal precisely to kill it and unless that’s a head shot–a very small target that’s easy to miss, especially for a kid–there’s a good chance it’s going to run some distance even with a perfect breadbasket shot. Then there’s the matter of all the rounds available–inexperienced or young hunters are better handed a gun with much less ammo capacity. As you know we teach them to plan for one shot–NOT to spray a whole large clip at something that spooks you! What would this kid have done if a huge buck ran right past him? Do you think he’d be thinking about what’s beyond his target when he shoots? Would he plan each shot carefully? I realize money can be tight for guns for some people, but his one would have been a lot better off with a break action single shot!
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Well stated Tim!
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and he hollered, ‘Dad, I shot a man!’”
and he hollered, ‘Dad, I shot a Uncle Vern!’”
and he hollered, ‘Dad,Nobody wants to be in my hunting party!’”
and he hollered, ‘Dad, I think the guy who passed my on my hunter safety course didn’t do me any favors!’”
and he hollered, ‘Dad, the ‘Oops’ button on my rifle doesn’t work!’”
and he hollered, ‘Dad, I think I’ll be lucky if I just get a fine!’”
and he hollered, ‘Dad, I didn’t even look at what I was shooting at or what might have been behind it!’”
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Was he walking in the swamp with his gun safety off? Or in his panic while he was falling did he take the time to unlock the safety- He’s shooting while falling- hmmm the bear was a rifle length away- maybe he should have used his bayonet if it was one at that distance- the only way you are going to kill something with that gun, I think, would be to get it with one shot in the brain- or forehead- pardon me but I am not a hunter any more-
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If it was ” fight or flight”, he should have chose flight. Personally, killing an animal just because you happened to stumble across one is not an example of a good sportsman. The DNR should have confiscated the animal and fined him.
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what a sad excuse for a “sportsman”. It obviously runs in the family, since his dad did the exact same thing 33 years ago. I don’t recall EVER hearing of someone being attacked by a bear just because they awoke it.
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This is a sad and pathetic story. I am so sorry this young man is being taught this.
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I think the kid and his dad should be brought in for further investigation. And then forced to take a hunter’s safety course because someone didn’t learn a damn thing the first time around.
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